46 Comments

Phil hammond will not attend he says. On the point of Rudd taking over from Boris .Brexiteers will vote for Boris not Rudd they would rather vote for the Brexit party than any of Boris’s replacement . Boris is our last chance to get this done.

I have never been to a CPC. I am not even a member of the Party and have never been one. How could anyone possibly join the CP with duff leaders like Heath, Major, Cameron and T May. Perhaps is Boris delivers a real & clean Brexit (with a Brexit Party Deal) I might then join. Even Mrs Thatcher made huge and predictable errors.

It’s good to know that there is still an engineering industry left which hasn’t been flogged off by the Tories to our competitors even though engineering cream buns isn’t most Englishmen’s idea of our glorious engineering heritage.

Hopefully future opportunities outside the EU can be discussed rather than distractions about the backstop, which really isn’t an issue at all. And no-one thought it was until Barnier/Robbins/Varadkar invented it as a problem

Pity I cannot attend anything. We decided to pay what might be a final visit to Italy next week. Purpose? To quietly test the temperature in touristy places, re- UK choosing to holiday outside EU places during the coming years, whether a member or not. If we manage to escape the clutches soonest, we are much more likely to stay happy to visit. Otherwise ….ciao

– which is a curse on society I’d like to see removed with the help of education in the schools.

Leaving no if’s no but’s.

– we shall have to see. I can’t help but form sentiment that the left wing snarlers, poor drama queen victims of public outrage, and professional offence seekers will somehow keep us in the EU after 31st.

I would advise that you and Conservative colleagues go to Conservative Party Conference – and stay there. Please advise the Prime Minister to do the same.

If Labour and the SNP table a Vote of No Confidence on Monday DO NOT rush back and let it undermine the Conservative Party’s One Real Chance to Speak To The Nation as a Party. If the Government falls you Conservative MPs, with the DUP, can do everything possible to persuade expelled Conservative MPs and Labour Brexit- supporters NOT to support a Remainer Coalition Government. Then after 14 days you get to an Election fought by the Conservatives on a popular pro-growth “People vs Parliament” Platform! If a Remain Coalition Government does form they can carry the can for delaying Brexit!

If there is a Vote to Take Control of The Order Paper on Monday – so that Remainer MPs can pass another anti- Brexit Bill (or amend the Benn Bill so that Boris Johnson has to send the letter to the EU begging for an extension earlier) on Tuesday – DO NOT RUSH BACK: It’ll likely make no difference anyway- and dont you those nasty Opportunist Remainer MPs undermine the Conservative Conference ! Boris Johnson can later in the week ask the Queen to refuse Royal Assent to any new Remainer Bill before it clears the Hous of Lords (likely after Conference)! Boris Johnson should also ask the Queen (through her Privy Council) to pressurise the Courts not to declare the Refusal of Royal Assent null and void – like they did with Prorogation – otherwise they should face the sack!

Enjoy the Conservative Conference: This year you should have “Land Of Hope And Glory” before Boris Johnson’s speech!

Here’s one thing that will surely work to replace the Backstop- the UK government gives a legally binding declaration to facilitate a border poll in the event that UK cannot come up with another workable acceptable solution- you can bounce that off Arlene when you see her. Tell her we are coming nearer to that time anyhow- cannot hold the tide back

Shame the Labour and Liberals having taken advantage of not having to attend Parliament, had their own conferences, and then refused yours, but given both of them had disastrous events, perhaps its done the Conservatives a favour.

I repeat, why not just enjoy your conference and ignore parliament – a sort of unilateral proroguing?

If a vote of No Confidence is brought, do we want to win it? Maybe we do now but after October 19th we might not.

I hope the SNP are right, that Boris Johnson will not sign the Benn letter and send it to Brussels. As I suggested, he might print it off on House of Commons notepaper, place a grumpy emoji in the signature location and pp it for Corbyn, Bercow and Benn. Then he could simultaneously write his own letter to the European Commission stating that he does NOT want an extension.

A Bruges Group event involving speakers who have consistently revealed their complete failure to grasp the purpose of the Irish backstop is taking place at the Comedy Store? Glad to someone has a sense of humour. I can’t be there, so do please ask the panel the following question: “Every single land border on the planet between two countries with different rules on tariffs and standards has physical infrastructure. How do you propose to avoid this at the border in Ireland without accepting the backstop?”

The purpose of the Irish backstop is to negate the referendum result by keeping the UK under the control of the EU. I don’t recall any mention of problems with the border pre-referendum, the alleged issues only manifested post-referendum (as did the phrases soft- and hard-Brexit). Feel free to cite sources proving widespread discussion of issues with the border pre-referendum.
Perhaps you are unaware that the border already copes with different currencies and tax rates on each side?

Try this BBC report from early 2016, Pud.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35692452
The now Prime Minsiter simply tells us there will be no hard border after Brexit. He doesn’t tell us why, he doesn’t tell us how. He just crosses his fingers behind his back, and hopes for the best. And that’s all he is doing now. Everyone who understood the situation knew in 2016 that the border is invisible only thanks to the EU and the Good Friday Agreemeent – this is why Northern Ireland voted heavily Remain. But the Leave campaign irresponsbily refused to even address the matter. It has now caught up with them. Backstop!

Helena, the report you link to briefly mentions Boris saying he doesn’t believe that the Irish border will have any difficulties post-Brexit. It mainly covers other points e.g. will Northern Irish farmers lose subsidies? Couldn’t you find an article from a Remainer pre-Brexit stating what the problems with the border would be?
Since my post this morning I’ve remembered that both HMRC and their Irish equivalents have said there should be no problems with the border and also that they were prevented from talking by pro-Remain governments.

Edward, every single one of those borders on your list has physical infrastructure. That’s the point – they are external EU borders, so they have to. And NI/ Ireland will have to have physical infrastructure too – unless you accept the backstop. This is what Brexit means, this is what you voted for. If you don’t like the backstop, you should have thought about how bad it is before you voted for Brexit. No oen to blame for the backstop — except you Brexit voters

There is even a programme on TV showing customs officials on both sides of the border stopping and checking cars and lorries.
Some get fined
Some get their vehicles impounded.
Some get prosecuted.
There are different taxation policies,different currencies,different rates of VAT, different rates of car taxation and different tax rates on tobacco and alcohol.
Right now.
And it is being policed right now.

“… every single one of those borders on your list has physical infrastructure … they are external EU borders, so they have to. And NI/ Ireland will have to have physical infrastructure too – unless you accept the backstop.”

So, Helena, please just explain to us, in clear terms, how the “backstop” would operate to render it unnecessary for the Irish/EU authorities to erect, and possibly man, physical infrastructure on their side of the border.

Not in the woolly “insurance policy against a hard border” terms which are acceptable to the media, but in more precise terms such as:

“Because of X (and maybe Y and Z) which would be provided under the backstop, even when the UK had left the EU it would not become necessary for the Irish/EU authorities to routinely intercept and inspect incoming goods at the border as they used to do before the advent of the EU Single Market”.

Of course as far as the UK side of the border is concerned, it has already been enshrined in UK law that we will not be erecting any new infrastructure or introducing any new controls without the agreement of the EU.

“Nothing in section 8, 9 or 23(1) or (6) of this Act authorises regulations which …

(b) create or facilitate border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after exit day which feature physical infrastructure, including border posts, or checks and controls, that did not exist before exit day and are not in accordance with an agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU.”

So you imagine that the torrent of goods crossing a lack of physical border into Ireland will be vast enough to unsettle and bring the EU into disaster? Most remoaners on here try to score points about how large EU is compared to UK (85% to 15%). Ireland GDP = 366 bn vs UK GDP = 2808 bn. I imagine people would notice and stop the movements? Plus the extra shipping to N.Ireland, and out from Ireland might be a clue?

The NI/RoI border has been open since the CTA in 1923 long before the EU existed. There is NOW and always has been a physical infrastructure at crossing points but its minimal. Using technology you dont have to stop at it even . Do keep up

Sad to see that your former Conservative colleague Dr. Lee will be standing against you at the next GE. As a past constituent of yours in Wokingham, I sincerely hope you will wipe the floor with him. After your many years of excellent service, it would be a travesty if he beat you.
I regret that having moved away I will not be able to lend you my vote…

Will there be questions from ‘the floor’ regarding a No 10 investigation, long since overdue, to determine what communication and plotted outcome, has been going on between certain de-whipped MPs, and EU officials.
Although the facts may not bear what people allege as treason, if found true, full publicity should be made in order to name and shame. The role of Speaker also invites examination.

I have to say I am absolutely appalled by the sheer spite of Labour and the Lib Dems, they were able to enjoy their conferences but are intent of disrupting the Tories, what is the betting there will be a VONC on Wednesday?

Can you imagine Labour MPs of old, James Callaghan, Harold Wilson, behaving like that?

I am also shocked and frightened by the idea that they might seize control of the HoC again in order to push through a drop in the voting age to 16, that was not in their manifestos and would be gerrymandering of the highest order. How can that be right? What is going on in this country?

Jacob Rees-Mogg, as Leader of the House, is the one person who must stay at the Commons to prevent further skulduggery. He can also have some fun by allocating a week long debate on the past, present and future of the European Union, in view of its oft expressed (and undeniable) desire to become a Federal European SuperState.

About John Redwood

John Redwood won a free place at Kent College, Canterbury, and graduated from Magdalen College Oxford. He is a Distinguished fellow of All Souls, Oxford. A businessman by background, he has set up an investment management business, was both executive and non executive chairman of a quoted industrial PLC, and chaired a manufacturing company with factories in Birmingham, Chicago, India and China. He is the MP for Wokingham, first elected in 1987.